Sacramento – On the first day of session, Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino) reintroduced the College Student Right to Access Act to expand abortion care at university health centers and send a clear message to the country that California will continue to lead the way in guaranteeing access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

“NARAL Pro-Choice California is proud to sign on as a co-sponsor of the College Student Right to Access Act,” said NARAL Pro-Choice California State Director Amy Everitt. “As the number one state in the nation leading the way on reproductive freedom, it is astonishing that not a single student health center at California’s public universities currently provides medication abortion. College students should not have to endure the added financial, logistical, and emotional burden of seeking standard reproductive healthcare off-campus.

Despite our historic electoral wins – with reproductive rights under attack nationally – we must remain ever vigilant. Governor Brown betrayed women and students with his veto of this bill last year. Too much is at stake for women to take anything for granted.”

The College Student Right to Access Act would require public California universities to offer the abortion pill at campus health centers. The bill’s reintroduction comes after Governor Brown’s insensitive and out of touch veto of the bill last year, despite overwhelming support in the State Legislature and among the public. A survey conducted by Change Research on behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice California revealed 60 percent of likely California voters, and 72 percent of women, say students should be able to access the abortion pill on campus.

NARAL Pro-Choice California joins ACCESS Women’s Health Justice, ACLU of California, ACT for Women and Girls, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, Students United for Reproductive Justice, and the Women’s Policy Institute/Women’s Foundation of California in sponsoring this bill. California State Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo has signed on as a principal co-author of the bill, and is joined by Senate coauthors Toni Atkins, Jim Beall, Bill Dodd, Jerry Hill, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Nancy Skinner, Henry Stern, Tom Umberg, and Scott Wiener.

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NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.